ASTI will today review its troubled pay campaign during what is expected to be a highly charged and lengthy meeting of its central executive council (CEC).
The 180-member CEC will review the campaign for a 30 per cent pay increase which has still to yield any tangible pay benefit despite a long war of attrition with the Government. The meeting will also consider the recent ballot on the Labour Court pay offer. The offer was rejected by a much narrower margin than had been expected.
Fifty-seven per cent voted for rejection with 43 per cent supporting the court offer.
Last night, some ASTI members were pushing for a "period of reflection" in which the union would use the summer months to examine where the campaign was going. It is expected the union will postpone any decision on whether to enter talks on new pay arrangements for "voluntary" supervision. Discussions on a new system began yesterday between the Department of Education, school managers and officials of the other teaching unions, the INTO and the TUI. The sides will meet again in a fortnight after exploratory talks. Although unpaid supervision has been a running sore in Irish schools for a generation, ASTI is refusing to enter talks on the issue until its pay campaign is resolved. Today's meeting will, however, see some CEC members criticise this approach. Some take the view the union should be at the table during talks which will affect members. The union will ballot on a fresh wave of industrial action later this month, including plans to withdraw supervision cover and ban all extra-curricular work, such as sport and debates. The Government hopes to outflank the ASTI by having the new paid system for supervision in place by September. But this is not certain as the teaching unions favour a full pensionable payment. The Government, however, is likely to offer an hourly allowance. Many teachers also object in principle to supervision work. The ASTI hopes to make withdrawal from supervision the central plank of its September pay campaign. But, if the Government manages to resolve the issue, this will present acute tactical difficulties.
The union has also to work out a clear policy on withdrawal from extra-curricular activities. Some members see this as a way of highlighting the vast amount of unpaid, voluntary work done by teachers. But other CEC members say this action will hurt students and parents and not the Department. Within the ASTI, there is little agreement on the way forward. Today's meeting is expected to hear complaints about the union's poor tactics during the pay campaign. Its public relations performance during the campaign will also be criticised.
ASTI will also consider a complaint from the National Parents Council (post primary) about alleged verbal assaults at its recent Galway conference. The Garda is investigating an alleged assault by an ASTI delegate on the council's PRO, Mr Pat Herlihy.